Collection of Signatures at Public Place for Parliamentary Petitions

Mr Pritam Singh asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether the police will favourably consider an application to collect signatures for the purposes of a parliamentary petition on any given matter in a public place; and (b) how and at which public venues other than Speakers' Corner can citizens legally make arrangements to sign a parliamentary petition as the parliamentary Standing Orders require a physical signature.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Home Affairs (Mr Amrin Amin) (for the Minister for Home Affairs): Such events can be held at the Speakers' Corner. And those who wish to hold such events outside the Speakers’ Corner will have to apply for a permit. A Police permit is not required for public assemblies at the Speakers' Corner which meets the conditions set out in the Public Order (Unrestricted Area) Order 2016.

Mr Pritam Singh (Aljunied): I would like to thank the Parliamentary Secretary for his reply. I have just one supplementary question. Can he please share details on how the Police exercises its discretion in requiring some calls for signatures for the purposes of a petition to go ahead without a permit, while requiring a permit in other instances – and I am referring to episodes outside of the Speakers' Corner.

Mr Amrin Amin: I think in those cases, it is fact-sensitive. It depends. If there are particular incidents which the Member would like clarification on, I think it is best to file a separate Parliamentary Question (PQ) on this, so that we can look deeply into the issue and give a comprehensive response.

Mr Pritam Singh: I note the Parliamentary Secretary's reply. I think the specific issue was with reference to an article in The Straits Times on 20 January 2018 referring to a public petition that was conducted for the purposes of the Sungei Road Flea Market. It was organised without a permit, and the Police did not intervene in that case. So the point of the supplementary question really was to understand how the Police assesses when a permit is required, and when it is not required.

Mr Amrin Amin: I think on when the permit is or when the permit is not required is clearly set out in the Act provisions. As I mentioned, the Police will generally act on information received and conduct investigations before deciding on what actions to take. If there are specific cases – I think the Member mentioned about the issue of the Sungei Road Flea Market – I think it is best that he files a separate PQ so that we can look into the incident and give him a comprehensive response.